The National Association of Realtors said Monday that sales of existing homes tumbled 4.9 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.82 million. That brings sales down to their lowest level since April 2014.

Relatively low mortgage rates and steady job growth have yet to spur more activity from buyers and sellers, raising the possibility of either a spring sales rush or a second straight year of numbness in the real estate market. Few properties are being listed for sale, would-be buyers are holding off on purchases and snowstorms are cutting into traffic at open houses.

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Homes did sell at a rate 3.2 percent faster than January 2014, but that increase largely reflects the brutal winter weather at the beginning of last year that depressed home-buying and caused the entire U.S. economy to briefly shrink. The noticeably more robust U.S. economy coming into 2015 was supposed to buoy sales, but the market has barely stirred so far.

Banking

Tax issue hits

HSBC exec

HSBC executives offered a fresh mea culpa Monday as its chief executive found himself personally mired in the scandal surrounding allegations that the bank helped wealthy clients dodge taxes.

Europe’s biggest bank by market value said past practices at its Swiss private bank were “unacceptable” as it reported that 2014 net income fell 16 percent to $13.7 billion. Meanwhile, Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported that Chief Executive Officer Stuart Gulliver had an account at the same unit.

On a conference call with reporters, Gulliver said he opened the account through a Panamanian company to protect his own privacy because other executives at HSBC’s Hong Kong offices were able to see what their colleagues were earning.

While Gulliver insisted that he had paid all tax due on the money in the account — reportedly more than $7.7 million — the Guardian’s story offered fresh embarrassment for a business reeling from allegations that forced it to publicly apologize last week.

Technology

Apple bets

on renewables

Apple is investing $1.92 billion in high-tech data centers in Denmark and Ireland that will be powered by renewable energy, in its largest such project in Europe to date, the company said Monday.

The hubs, to begin operations in 2017, will power data for Apple’s online services, including iTunes Store, App Store, iMessage, Maps and Siri voice services.

The technology giant joins Microsoft, Google and Facebook in building data centers in northern Europe, where the colder climate helps save on equipment cooling costs.

Apple CEO Tim Cook described the centers as “some of our most advanced green building designs yet.” They will use renewable energy, including wind power.

Auto industry

Honda CEO

stepping down

Honda Motor Co. — hurt by falling sales and embroiled in a crisis over defective air bags — is replacing its CEO.

The Japanese automaker said Monday that Takanobu Ito, its president and chief executive officer since 2009, will step aside in June and be succeeded by longtime executive Takahiro Hachigo.

The unexpected decision follows the recalls of more 6.2 million Honda vehicles in the U.S. — and millions of others elsewhere — equipped with air bags made by Japan’s Takata Corp. The air bags have inflators that can explode, expelling shards of metal and plastic. At least six deaths and 64 injuries have been linked to the problem worldwide.

At a press conference Monday, the 61-year-old Ito said it was his own decision to step down. He has been at Honda since 1978, when he joined the company as a chassis engineer.

Internet

Twitter backs

net neutrality

Twitter spoke out in support of net neutrality, joining Internet companies such as Netflix and Reddit to urge passage of U.S. regulations that require broadband service providers to treat all Web traffic equally.

As the the Federal Communications Commission prepares to vote Thursday on rules that protect net neutrality, Twitter underlined its support for such regulations on Monday in a blog post. Allowing providers to favor one form of content over another or offer “paid prioritization” of some traffic threatens freedom of expression and fair competition, the San Francisco company said.

“We need clear, enforceable, legally sustainable rules to ensure that the Internet remains open and continues to give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers,” Will Carty, Twitter’s public policy manager, wrote in the post. “This is the heart of Twitter.”

Earlier this month, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler announced the commission’s strongest-ever rules for safeguarding net neutrality. The proposal drew ire from cable and wireless providers, which contend the rules would expand government control of the Internet and limit innovation.

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